Groovin' Family
by Roxas4ever
Summary: I thought it would be funny if there was a story where Heat, Hiro, and Strike were brothers (I can totally see them having sibling fights), anyway, one day, a new person joins their family. Could this person posses the dancing ability to become a Groover?
1. Welcome to the Family!

Groovin' Family

"It is a bright, sunny morning. The birds in the trees are singing, and the sun shines warmly down on the plants. It seems as if mother nature herself was saying that today is a perfect da-.." **CRASH!** "Hey, give that back!" came a shout from downstairs. Hiro turned off his video camera, annoyed. "Now what is it?" he said, poking his head out into the hallway. Two figures were running down the hall, towards Hiro. In the lead was Strike, waving a red cowboy hat triumphantly in the air, trailed by Heat, who was attempting to grab the hat and run at the same time.

"Give me my hat back!" Heat yelled at Strike. "Not a chance!" came the reply. Knocking Hiro over, Strike dashed into his room, and shut the door right before Heat could get in. Locking it, Strike dusted himself off, than, content, plopped himself down in one of Hiro's chairs.

"JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, BARGING IN HERE, AND KNOCKING ME OVER!" Hiro yelled, getting up.

Strike laughed. "Ah, get over it. Besides, we're done goofing off. Heat can't get his hat back as long as I'm in here".

There was a loud noise, and then suddenly Hiro's bedroom door burst into flames, and, seconds later, crumbled into a pile of ashes.

"AHH!" shrieked Hiro, "That's my door!"

Smile vanishing instantly, Strike leapt to his feet, grabbing Heat's hat, and looked for a means of escape. Seeing no other way out, but the doorway, where Heat stood pointing a flaming finger at him, Strike gave in, and tossed the cowboy hat to his younger brother. Heat caught it, and then smirked at Strike. "I knew I'd get it back. It was just a matter of time".

"That's only 'cause you cheated. Just 'cause some of us don't have fire powers…" Strike said, rolling his eyes. Seating himself on Hiro's bed, Strike crossed his arms.

"Hey, I didn't want to crash on the race track. I didn't ask to slowly be burned alive, then miraculously saved. Of course, if you want to gain the power to control fire, I'd be more than happy to set you on fire, and hope that you get fire power before you're burned to ashes…", Heat said, stepping forward and rolling up his sleeves.

"Oh ya?" Strike said, getting to his feet. Hiro quickly stepped in between his older and younger brother.

"Please, calm down you two! Now will you guys leave my room, so I can get back to my d…", Hiro stopped, fearing he had said too much.

Strike looked suddenly interested though. "Your what?" he said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Nothing", Hiro said, stepping in front of his video camera to hide it from the others. However, he wasn't quick enough.

Heat snatched the camcorder off the table. "What's this?" he said, dangling the camera in front of Hiro. He tossed it to Strike.

"Give that back! It's mine!" Hiro said, trying to retrieve his camcorder. Strike caught it then chuckled to himself. "Don't tell me you still do video diaries, Hiro", he said, spinning the camera on his finger.

"So what if I do?" Hiro said, going bright red with embarrassment. In response, Strike took off, out of Hiro's room, still carrying the camera. "Hey, come back here!" Hiro chased after him. As Strike hopped the staircase, Hiro came round the corner. Running down the stairs, Hiro tripped in his platform shoes (which are not meant for running in, mind you), and tumbled the rest of the way down.

Heat, watching the two run around from upstairs, decided he wanted to join in the fun. Sitting on the banister, he slid down. However, at the last second, Hiro appeared at the bottom of the stairs, and, unable to stop, Heat crashed into him, and both fell to the ground, Heat sitting on top of Hiro.

Just then, there was a knock at the front door. Without waiting for a reply, the door burst open, and in stepped…

"Mom and Dad?" Strike said, hiding Hiro's camera behind his back. "What are you doing here?"

"Just what do you two think you are doing, always goofing off!" 'Mom' said to Heat and Hiro, the latter of who was trying to push Heat off his back so he could get up.

Strike crossed his arms, and rolled his eyes. "I tried to get them to stop fooling around, but you know how they are, always chasing each other". At that both Heat and Hiro shot Strike a dirty look.

"Anyway, I know you guys like to hang out and all in Hiro's 'pad', but we need to ask a favor of you" 'Dad' said. "Your mother and I are going to take a two month vacation this summer, starting tomorrow, and we needed someone to look after your little brother".

Strike rolled his eyes, and Heat asked "You mean that kid you adopted a month ago?"

"Yes, and since you boys never came over to meet him during that time, I thought it would be good he spent time with you".

"WHAT!" all three guys yelled at once, jumping up. "He can't stay here, this is MY pad!" Hiro whined.

Just then a small boy stepped in, dressed in all blue, carrying two suitcases, and a backpack on his back. Bending over, 'Mom' kissed him on the head. Before closing the door and leaving the little boy with his new guardians, the parents waved, saying "Have a good time, Tsutamo".


	2. Poker Games and Lots O' Flames!

The first person to move was Strike. "Need help with those?" he said, nodding to Tsutamo's suitcases. Making a move to relieve the little boy of his load, he was taken aback when Tsutamo suddenly jumped to the side.

"I can carry my own stuff, thank you very much" he said, huffily. With that, he started to walk to his room, only to realize he had no idea where it was. Stopping, he dropped the luggage and sat down on top of it.

"Hey, slow down little man!" Strike said, throwing his hands up in defeat. "I didn't mean to offend you. I only offered to help".

Whipping out his mirror, Hiro combed his hair. "Well, I think he's pretty smart. I wouldn't trust you two with my stuff either", he said, nodding to Strike and Heat.

"You didn't exactly seem to happy to see me. Am I such a burden on your life that I am unwelcome here?" Tsutamo replied coldly. Shocked, none of the others made a reply. "I thought so".

Heat was the first to react. Walking over to the boy, he kneeled in front of him, so he could look eye to eye with his new little brother. "Look", he said, "whatever hostile impressions you may have gotten from us, we're sorry. We didn't mean to make you feel unwelcome".

Smiling at Heat, Tsutamo hopped off his bags, and said "Lead the way, brother!" Returning Tsutamo's smile, Heat helped him carry his bags into the spare bedroom, between Hiro and Heat's rooms.

"This will be your room for the next couple of months", Heat said, placing Tsutamo's luggage on the fold out bed. If you need any extra lights, just steal one from Hiro, he's got more than enough. If you need any CDs, I've got tons you can go through, and visit Strike if you need any….um….well, guns".

Shocked, Tsutamo looked up at Heat. With eyes as big as saucers, "Guns?" was all he could utter.

Chuckling, Heat leaned against the wall. "Ah, don't let him scare you. He's just a big softie. He never really uses them, except for attacking when we're at Bu…". Catching himself before he revealed too much, Heat quickly changed the subject. "So, got any hobbies, or things you like to do?"

Putting his hand to his chin, Tsutamo thought, then, snapping his finger, declared "Reading!"

"Hey, that's cool, what do you read?"

Digging through his backpack, Tsutamo pulled out a large volume. Shoving the book in Heat's face, he eagerly announced the title, "The Webster Dictionary!"

Leafing through the pages, his new older brother looked up in disbelief. "Y…you read this…for fun!"

Grabbing the book and stuffing it back in his backpack, Tsutamo replied happily. "Yah! It's very fascinating! I'm already to the I's. I would have never known what infallible meant. It's amazing what one can learn!"

"Go figure", Heat said, in a daze. He and Tsutamo left the room. As they headed down the hallway, suddenly a monster popped out of a nearby closet and grabbed Heat. "Aaaaaaaaaaaahh!" the two younger brothers yelled, and with that, they passed out.

Strike, removing his monster mask, chuckled, and said "That was WAY too easy".

Sticking his head out of his bedroom doorway to see what the commotion was about, Hiro frowned at the dark sibling of his. "That wasn't very nice", he said, coming out of his bedroom.

"Ah, who cares? They both need to toughen up. A good scare every once in awhile should do just that". Strike stashed the mask back in the closet, and then cocked an eyebrow. "And just what are you doing?"

Hiro held up a few photos, their backs facing Strike. "I'm autographing pictures of myself, for the competition tonight. You had better get ready, too. I hear the competition is going to be tough tonight, especially since Frida's going to bring her little sister".

Whipping out his guns, Strike looked at them thoughtfully, while Hiro whimpered, ever the scaredy cat. "Oh, I'll be ready".

Gaining some confidence, Hiro annoyedly tapped his foot, and nodded towards the unconscious Heat and Tsutamo. "That's great", he said sarcastically. "Now, what are you going to do about those two?"

Strike looked down at them, and then sighed, putting his guns away. "We'd better put them in their bedrooms". Hiro walked over and picked up Tsutamo, while Strike roughly grabbed Heat, as though Heat weighed nothing. He dragged the red head down the hallway, and stopped in front of a door with a giant flame painted on it. Rolling his eyes, he pushed open the door, and walked into the room. From the bright red carpet, to the flame painted walls, Heat's room was screaming fire. Planting his feet firmly on the carpet, Strike carelessly threw his brother onto the flamed bed. Heat landed on the edge of the bed, then fell off his a loud thud. A sudden "Ow!" told Strike he should leave before Heat caught him, and he took off.

That night, the four guys sat around the kitchen table (which was really a poker table, since Hiro couldn't afford to get a high quality dinette set). Currently playing Five Card Draw, each player looked at his cards. Hiro combed him hair with one hand, while he concentrated on his cards, Strike cocked an eyebrow at his hand, Tsutamo yawned, and Heat tried to decide what to open the bidding with. After a few long minutes of deliberation, he finally pushed a pile of chips forward. Strike pulled down his shades to get a better look. "Man…twenty chips? Alright, I'm in". With that, he too pushed twenty chips to the center.

Looking at himself in his mirror, Hiro put it down, and then tossed a whole bunch of chips to the center. "I'll see your twenty, and raise you ten".

Impatient to end the game, and asking for the zillionth time "Can we play Chess instead?", Tsutamo put all of his poker chips in the middle.

"Looks like the short one is all in. So am I". Heat knocked the remainder of his chips into the rapidly growing center pile.

After the other two contributed the rest of their piles, Strike announced "Time to reveal your hand!"

Tsutamo, embarrassed by his lack of luck, laid down his hand, and muttered "King high".

Strike showed a pair of threes, and leaned back in his chair. After Hiro laid down a flush, it was assumed the game was won. However, grinning triumphantly, Heat held up his cards. A Royal Flush. As he leaned forward to collect his winnings, Strike, suddenly alert, whipped Heat's cards out of his hand, and looked closely at them. "Hey! This King isn't a King! It's a Queen with a mustache burned on. Why…you….little..!"

Aware that the jig was up, Heat attempted to flee, but was knocked to the ground when Strike jumped on top of him.

Hiro sighed, annoyed, while Tsutamo looked at the Queen. "Hey Hiro, how did that mustache get burned on?" Before Hiro could reply, Tsutamo's question was answered.

As Heat tried to get up, Strike pinned him down. Suddenly, flames appeared in Heat hands, the flames licking Strike's arms. "YOWWW!" Strike yelled, jumping back. As Heat took off running, holding his cowboy hat, Strike whipped out an automatic gun, and fired a round of shots into Heat's hat! Stopping dead in his tracks, Heat stared in shock at his bullet hole covered hat. Mourning the loss of his companion, Heat sat on the ground, back to the wall, hugging the red (and now, Swiss cheese) cowboy hat. Strike returned to the table, as if nothing had happened, and looked at the other two. "So, where do you want to go for dinner?"

Tsutamo, to shocked to say anything, just sat with his mouth hanging open, his mind trying to process what had just happened.

Hiro, looking at the clock on the wall, gasped. "Forget dinner! We're going to be late meeting the others!"

Strike, jumped out of his chair. "I completely forgot about the competition tonight! Hiro, take Tsutamo to the garage". Running over to the grieving Heat, Strike grabbed his shirt collar and said "This is no time to mourn over a hat! We got to leave, now!" Dragging Heat to the flame-covered car (guess who's it was:P), he attempted to get into the driver's seat, when suddenly, a flaming finger was pointed in his face.

"My car! Get out!" As Strike clambered into the passenger seat, Heat slid behind the wheel. Running his fingers over the steering wheel, he sighed. After ceremoniously placing his wounded hat on the dashboard (during which Strike rolled his eyes), Heat suddenly slammed his foot on reverse. The sports car shot out of the garage, and all of its passengers (with the exception of Heat, being a nature born race car driver) flew out of their seats. "You really should buckle up", he said.

"Well, for your information, I was, but even the seat belts can't protect me from your driving! Now, please slow down, you know I get car sick" Hiro said.

Heat turned around, and grinned wickedly at Hiro. "Oh, don't worry, I'll drive nice and slow". With that, he hit the gas, and the car took off. Just because he's a skilled driver, does not mean he isn't a reckless one. Driving down the median, Heat weaved through traffic, accelerating whenever possible. Receiving angry yells from other motorists, he just grinned and waved back. As he sped through a red light, Heat drove into an empty parking lot, and, at the last possible second, slammed on the brakes. Hiro, Strike, and Tsutamo all fell forward, onto the car floor. Heat unbuckled his seatbelt, and then climbed out and looked in at his brothers sprawled on the floor. "Hey, get up sleepyheads! We're here!"

Ticked off, Strike helped Tsutamo get out, while Hiro ran to throw up in the nearest trash can. "Does he always drive like that?" Tsutamo asked the eldest.

Strike chuckled, watching Heat leap the fence, then dash through the doors of a large, concrete garage. "Yah, he's a pretty cocky driver. You think he would have learned to be more careful after his accident".

Tsutamo's eyes got as big as dinner plates. "Heat got in an accident? Wow, what happened?"

"No time to talk, kid. The competition starts soon, and we don't want to be late. Hey Hiro!" Strike said, grabbing Hiro's shirt as they walked past the garbage can he was throwing up in. "This isn't the time for dramatics! You should be practicing. Your going to need all the practice you can get if you plan on going up against me!"

As the three walked into the dark, seemingly empty garage, they arrived in front of an old fashioned, gate type elevator. Getting on, Strike typed a code into the box, the gate closed, and the elevator moved down, into darkness.


	3. Welcome to Bust A Groove!

Landing with a loud **CLANG!**, the doors opened, and Tsutamo found himself in a large, concrete, well lit room. Many other people were there, of all different ages. Looking for a friendly face in the crowd, Tsutamo spotted Heat, who was busy behind a DJ booth. As he walked over, the red head looked up and smiled at Tsutamo.

"Hey! I see you, Strike, and Hiro finally made it! So, you like music?" Seeing Tsutamo nod, Heat smiled. "Then, this is the place for you! I'm running the DJ booth tonight, so you can sit back here with me and..".

A blue haired, dark skinned girl around Heat's age suddenly came up behind him and grabbed his bullet hole covered hat. "I see you and Strike had a run in with each other", she said, examining the remains of the cowboy hat.

"Frida!" Heat exclaimed. He and Frida hugged. After they stopped, Heat explained what happened.

"Ah, I see. Well", she said, pulling out a wet paintbrush. "I'll see what I can do". Then, to Tsutamo's amazement, she started painting over the holes, and they completely disappeared!

"Thanks", Heat said, placing the newly repaired hat on his head. As he and Frida continued to talk, Tsutamo slipped away to go exploring.

Looking at the people here, Tsutamo came to the conclusion that it must be some sort of costume party. There was a tall green haired girl in a cat suit talking to what appeared to be some one dressed as a zombie next to the punch bowl, a police officer conversing with Strike, and a teen with a…is that a gas mask he's wearing? Although he was amid a crowd of people, Tsutamo was incredibly lonely. Sitting in the corner, he watched as everyone else had a good time.

Suddenly, a girl dressed as a waitress skated over to him. "Hi, I'm Comet!" she exclaimed. "Who are you?"

Glad to no longer be alone, Tsutamo grinned, shook her hand, and replied "I'm Tsutamo! I'm new here".

Comet smiled back. "So am I! My sister, Frida, was telling me about this place. Tonight's my first night here! As you can tell, I came straight from work", she said, looking down at her outfit. After a couple moments of awkward silence, Comet asked "Have you seen any good movies lately?"

Red with embarrassment, Tsutamo muttered, "No, but I can't wait to see the new Car Wars movie".

Then, to his surprise, Comet exclaimed "Me too! Wow, I thought I was the only one who like those movies! Everyone calls me a nerd for liking them. Maybe we.."

"Attention everyone!" Heat interrupted, on the microphone. "We're ready to start. First of all, I'd like to welcome two guests we have tonight; Comet and Tsutamo". As the other members turned their attention to the two, they went bright red; Comet, giggling nervously, and Tsutamo, who was about ready to faint. "Alright, it is now time to officially open tonight's competition. Everyone, welcome…to Bust A Groove".


	4. Get into the Groove!

After Heat was done, he waved Tsutamo over to the booth. "I gotta go", Tsutamo said, turning to Comet.

"Kay, see you later!" she said, waving. As he walked away, she smiled to herself. _What a neat little kid_, she thought (being a babysitter, nobody knows kids better than Comet).

After Tsutamo arrived in the booth, Heat came on the microphone again. "Alright, first up, Gas-O versus Frida!" As people moved off to the sidelines, the blue haired girl and the teen in a gas mask stepped center stage. Suddenly, funky music started, and Tsutamo found himself in some sort of tropical shack like room. "Where am I?" he said, dazed, watching the two suddenly start dancing.

Heat chuckled to himself. "Great visual affects, aren't they? Gas-O, the kid who's soloing now, put together this holographic system that makes even the simplest of rooms, such as this one, change before your eyes to about where ever you want to go. Hiro was in charge of getting the lighting right, so that the holographs look as realistic as possible. Each member of our Bust A Groove club has a place that was custom designed to fit their personality". Looking down at Tsutamo, Heat could tell he was still unclear of what was happening. "Alright, let me explain this to you. Do you see those scoreboards?" He pointed to two black boxes, each above one contestant. "The numbers on those show the number of points a dancer receives for each move. At the end of a match, the person with the most points wins".

Tsutamo turned to his older brother. "Are dance moves the only way you can gain points?"

"Well, now that you mention it, no. You can also gain points by attacking your opponent. You can only, but are not required to, attack the other dancer twice in one round. Look, here, see what Frida's doing?"

At that moment, Frida was painting a wolf in midair, and it attacked Gas-O, allowing Frida to steal his solo. As the song ended, the scores were rallied up, and Frida was declared the winner, just by 300 points.

After grabbing Tsutamo and himself some sodas, Heat announced the next contestants. "Next match; Shorty versus Hiro-kun!" As the concrete room became a disco club, he put on "Natural Playboy", and cranked the volume.

Tsutamo watched as Hiro strutted over to the stage, then, he saw Hiro's opponent. The other contestant, Shorty, was a girl around Tsutamo's age, with giant pigtails, a white shirt too big for her, overalls, and a stuffed mouse sitting on top of her head. Tsutamo's jaw dropped. The music started up, and the two started dancing; Hiro doing disco moves and Shorty some sort of candy hiphop.

"…_I'm the coolest dancer around, the lights are shining down on me, so every one can see…"_

Just then, Shorty yelled "Take that!", and, out of nowhere, a giant fruitcake fell from the sky and squashed Hiro.

Heat whispered to Tsutamo "Hiro's a fruitcake!" Then, turning to look at his little brother, he saw Tsutamo staring, open mouthed, at Shorty, who was busting a groove. Chuckling to himself, he turned back to the soundboard. "Love at first sight" he muttered, shaking his head.

As the song ended, Shorty won with a big lead, and Hiro walked off stage, covered in cake frosting. Tsutamo, in an attempt to get Shorty's attention, decided to leave the booth and casually walk past her. However, before he could get to her, the lights dimmed, as the next contestants were announced. To Tsutamo's surprise, a female voice came on the mike, and said "Now: Kelly versus Heat!" Looking to the center stage, he suddenly found himself in a glass room, surrounded by large columns of fire. As Heat stepped up on stage, so did the woman Tsutamo had seen earlier, who was dressed as a police officer. A loud, head banging tune started.

"…_I'm too bad bad, too bad bad bad bad…"_

Heat started break dancing, while Kelly did some moves that Tsutamo would classify as "icky, stripper type dancing". "Hmmm, I didn't know Heat could break dance", Tsutamo said aloud.

Much to Tsutamo's surprise, Comet appeared by his side and replied. "Neither did I! He and Frida have been friends for the longest time, so he's always over at our house, but I didn't know he was into break dancing!"

As Heat did a handstand, Kelly took the opportunity to attack. Pulling out a megaphone, she screamed as hard as she could into. However, Heat, easily dodged the attack. In fact, two measures later, he suddenly yelled, and shot off a line of fire. Kelly, too caught up in her dancing, was taken by surprise, and knocked off of her feet. Successfully earning a FREEZE! From the DJ, Heat's song fit perfectly in with how he was doing.

"The coolest, I'm so slammin', I'm so slammin', body's jammin' 

_Bad to the bone, you should have known I'm in my own zone"_

Suddenly turning to Comet, Tsutamo asked her a question that had been bugging him for a while. "Comet, how on earth can Heat randomly shoot out fire like that? I saw him do it earlier today, too, when he and Strike were fighting".

"Well, not much is known about exactly what happened", Comet started. "Heat used to be a racecar driver. However, during his first ever worldwide competition, one of the drivers played dirty, and purposely slammed their car into Heat's. His car was pushed off the edge, and rolled down into a gully, where it suddenly burst into flame. Miraculously, Heat survived, though he was covered from head to toe in third degree burns. After a few months in the hospital, he was able to come home. Then, one day when he, Frida, and I were walking home from a movie, a guy tried to mug us. Heat, defending Frida and I, got so angry, that, suddenly, flames shot from his hands, and severely burned the attacker. After that, he adopted the name Heat (I'm not sure what he was known by before that). Well, Frida calls him 'Fireboy' also, and his other name, 2Bad, is actually the name of the song that's playing right now. That's about all I can tell you, though". Tsutamo looked up at Heat, but this time, seeing him in a new light.

"…_I'm 2Bad Bad, 2Bad Bad Bad Bad…"_

As the last strains of the song played, the scores were tallied up, and, by a whole 20,000 points, Heat won. Doing a back flip, Heat struck a pose, and said "You just got whuped!"


	5. Guess Where We're Going?

The next morning, Heat was still asleep, dreaming about his victory last night, when suddenly, a loud siren blared in his ear. **BEEP! **"Ahhhh!" Heat, jumping five feet up in the air, got tangled in his blanket, and fell out of bed with a **CRASH! **Looking up, he saw Hiro standing over his, with a giant megaphone. "Get up, sleepyhead!" he yelled into it. "Rise and shine! We need to be ready early today!"

Muttering to himself, Heat drowsily got dressed, then followed Hiro down to breakfast. Seating himself at the poker table, he looked around. Next to him, Tsutamo was gobbling down pancakes, and next to Tsutamo, Strike was yawning. Apparently he had been woken up the same way Heat had. Hiro, being fully awake and ready to roll, placed a bowl of cereal in front of Heat.

Sitting at table, Hiro clapped his hands together. "So, guess what we are doing today?" Hiro said eagerly.

Strike, chewing on a piece of bacon, lazily muttered, "Going back to bed?" Heat, too tired to make a reply, sleepily stirred his cereal around. Tsutamo, however, was interested.

"What are we doing today, Hiro?" he asked his fully awake brother.

"Well, I'll give you a hint: it only comes by once a year, for a week at a time", Hiro said, combing his hair.

"Ooooooh! What is it, tell me!" Tsutamo almost leapt out of his chair in excitement. Strike, already bored, leaned back in his chair, staring out the window. Heat, on the brink of falling asleep, had his head resting on his hand, as he continued to stir his cereal.

"Well", Hiro continued, "where we are going there is cotton candy, balloon animals, popcorn, and just about anything on a stick!"

"What is it! What is it!" Tsutamo said, jumping up and down in his chair. "Please tell me! Please, please, PLEASE!"

"Well, there are go karts, roller coasters, and a shooting gallery…" Strike, now interested, looked over at Hiro. Eager to hear where they were going, both brothers leaned forward. The tension and suspense of the room was suddenly interrupted with a loud **PLOP!** Everyone looked over to see that Heat's head had landed face first in the cereal, and he was fast asleep. Hiro, turning back to his audience, decided to give in. "We're going to the county fair!"

"WHOOPEE!" yelled Tsutamo, flying out of his seat. "We're going to the fair! We're going to the fair!" he sang.

"Cool", Strike said. "Hey, you hear that!" he yelled in the sleeping Heat's ear. "We're going to the county fair". Heat, still asleep in his cereal, just gargled in reply. "Ah, let's leave without him", Strike said.

"OK!" everyone agreed. Cleaning up, everyone headed out to the garage. Hopping into the driver's seat of Heat's flaming sports car, Strike said to himself "I've always wanted to drive this baby". Placing the key in the ignition, he turned it and started the car.

Now, there is one thing Strike forgot. Never, EVER come between a racer and his car. As soon as the sound of the key turning in the ignition reached Heat's ears, he was out of his seat before anyone could say "He should clean the milk and cereal off of his face first" (OK, so that's a long sentence, but hey, he really should :P).

Strike, attempting to back out of the garage, suddenly saw a ticked off Heat staring at him in the rearview mirror. "Uhhh ohhhhh…" he said quietly.

"JUST WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING! GET OUT OF MY CAR THIS INSTANCE! YOU HAD BETTER NOT HAVE HAD ANY INTENTIONS OF DRIVING MY CAR, OTHERWISE I'LL HAVE TO BURN YOU LIKE KINDLING!"

In an attempt to be funny, Strike nervously laughed and said, "You should wash your face. You've got milk and cereal all over". His attempt backfired.

Flushing with anger, suddenly Heat burst into flame. Tsutamo squeaked in horror, Hiro fainted, and Strike's jaw dropped. After a few seconds of being surround by flames, they suddenly disappeared. Heat looked the same, but the cereal and milk had been burned off. A little more calmly this time, Heat approached Strike's window, flaming hand extended forward. "Can I please have the keys?" he asked, grinning wickedly. Strike, in a state of shock, dumbly nodded his head, and then scooted over to the passenger seat as fast as possible. "Thank you", Heat said, climbing into his car. Backing out of the driveway, Heat hummed a happy little tune, while everyone else was too in shock to respond. After humming for five minutes (and driving through empty streets. Heat hates empty streets. There's no one to cut in front of or weave around :P), Heat turned on the radio. M.C. Hammer's song "Can't Touch This" had just started. Heat happily cranked up the bass, as he sped into busier streets. The bass beat rocked the car, and Tsutamo and Hiro were thrown out of their seats (Strike just reclined in his chair, being used to a loud, heavy bass beat. He listens to music three times the volume of what Heat had it at). Driving along the median to save time, Heat nearly hit several cars, and, whenever he felt like taking a risk, he'd swerve into oncoming traffic. Some random driver shook his fist at Heat, yelling a boat load of swear words. Heat just stuck his head out and window and yelled back sarcastically "Okay, you have a great day too!"

"Keep your eyes on the road!" Hiro screamed, clinging to the back of Heat's chair as though he was holding on for his life.

Heat looked ahead. A semi was coming right at them! Yanking the steering wheel as far to the right as possible, Heat got the car out of the truck's way in the nick of time. Arriving in front of a very large amusement park, Heat cut a car off and stole their parking spot.

Tsutamo, though shaking after the violent car ride, was still excited to be there. Stumbling out of the car, he spotted a nearby cotton candy stand. "Oooooh! Cotton candy! Can we get some!" he asked excitedly.

Hiro, turning green at the mere mention of food, ran to the closest garbage can, and threw up.

Strike, producing a few bucks from him pocket, gave them to an ecstatic Tsutamo, who then proceeded to skip wobbly off to the cotton candy stand. Turning to Heat, Strike said "Man, the energy of that kid! You'd think he lived off of…"

Heat, cowboy hat on his head, ran past Strike, yelling at the top of his lungs "Last one to the roller coaster is a rotten egg!"

"…tons of sugar…", Strike finished, dazed. Shaking his head, Strike walked over to Hiro. "Yo, Mr. Narcissi, time to finish your barfing so we can go on some rides (in case you don't know, narcissi is when someone is in love with themselves :) ).

Hiro straightened up, wiping his mouth on a tissue. Then, after gargling with mouthwash (I have no idea where he got it from), he whipped out his mirror and proceeded to comb his hair. "There! All done!" he exclaimed as he stashed his mirror back in his shirt. However, he was then immedeatly grabbed by the shirt by Strike and hauled over to a haunted house.


	6. A Day at the Fair!

Tsutamo, happily eating his cotton candy, walked back over to the car. "So, guys, what should we…?" he stopped, realizing his brothers had deserted him. "Hmph!" crossed his arms, annoyed. However, his anger was quickly forgotten as he wandered through the fair grounds. "Oooooh, a fun house!" Tsutamo wandered off into the crazy colored building.

Elsewhere, Heat was having the time of his life. "Whahooooo!" he yelled as the roller coaster plummeted, hands held high in the air. Once the ride had ended, Heat walked out laughing, as everyone else who had been on staggered out dizzily. Grabbing a snow cone, Heat scanned the area for a familiar face. Finally he came upon one.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Hiro screamed, for about the billionth time. Covering his face, he shielded himself.

Rolling his eyes, Strike said, annoyed "Hiro, we're not even IN the haunted house yet, and your already freaking out". As the people in front of them entered, a masked and robed employee explained everything to a bored Strike and a shaking Hiro.

"Now", he said, grinning wickedly, "remember: once your in there, there is no escape. No one can hear you scream. No one can save you now!" With that, he shoved the two brothers into the house, and shut the gate behind them.

Tsutamo was having a fun time looking at the funny shaped mirrors. He laughed as he passed one that made his head and legs look squished. However, his laughter died down as he practically walked into an unsuspecting figure. "Oops!" he said, and then gasped. It was Shorty, from Bust A Groove!

"Oh, hello there!" she said, turning to face him. Then, her face lit up. "You're that new kid, down at the club! Heat, Strike, and Hiro's brother! Tsutamo, was it?"

"Well, adoptive brother, but yes" he said, awkwardly. Turning the subject away from him, he looked around. "Are you here with anyone?"

"Nope, it's just me and Columbo! My mom said she trusts me to go out on my own". Shorty did a little hop-skip.

"Who's Columbo?" Tsutamo asked, looking around.

Shorty grinned at him, and pulled a mouse, which had been sitting there the whole time, off of the top of her head. "See?" she said, shoving the oversized rodent in Tsutamo's face. 'This is Columbo!"

Columbo grinned at Tsutamo, but, then seeing it's distorted reflection in the mirrors, squeaked with fright and hid in Shorty's sleeves.

"Poor Columbo!" Shorty said, hugging the mouse. "He's frightened! He doesn't like fun houses very much". Then, to Tsutamo's surprise, she grabbed his arm and started running, pulling him along behind her. "I know!" she said as she took off. "Let's go find some rides to go on!"

"Kitty!" Heat exclaimed. A girl, roughly a year younger than Heat, looked up. She was dressed in a cat costume, with green hair, and big, blue eyes. Upon seeing him, she let out a "Meow!" of excitement and came over.

"Hey Heat! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Oh, me and the bros brought Tsutamo here so he could have some fun", Heat said, shifting his weight.

"Oh, that's so sweet of you!" Kitty (also known as Kitty-N) said. "Tsutamo's lucky to have a brother like you!"

Heat blushed. Running his gloved hand through his hair nervously, he tried to find something to say. "So", he said at last, "do you want to go on a ride together?"

Kitty-N excitedly grabbed his hand. "Sure! Let's go find one!" Walking hand in hand, the two strolled through the park, until they found themselves in front of a ride.

Strike and Hiro crept through the haunted house. Suddenly, a vampire jumped out in front of them. Hiro shrieked, and Strike, annoyed, clamped his hand over his brother's mouth. "Will you be quiet? You know, it's not real! How many times do I have to tell you that? Now, if I take my hand off your mouth, do you promise you will shut up!"

Hiro just whimpered, and nodded his head. As they continued along in an eerie silence, he soon became aware of how dirty the building was. Too busy looking around, Hiro walked straight into a giant cobweb. "Mama mia!" the young Italian exclaimed.

Strike, rolling his eyes, yanked his brother out of the web. Dusting himself off, he then continued on.

Hiro, running his hand through his hair discovered it was covered in cob webs. Whipping out his mirror, he combed it as he walked along. However, when taking one last look in the mirror, he did a double take. Standing right behind him was a freakishly green zombie! "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, and with that, he ran to the nearest exit, flung the door open, and took off into the park.

Walking along, Tsutamo and Shorty licked ice cream cones. Suddenly, some one ran past them screaming. As the wind rushed behind the freaked out person, the cone was knocked from Tsutamo's hand, and fell to the ground with a **SPLAT!** "Hey, no fair!" Tsutamo exclaimed, shaking his fist at the man in all white, who was still running. "You owe me a new ice cream cone!"

"Ah, get over it", Shorty said, finishing hers. "It's time we found a ride to get on any way".

Heat and Kitty-N stopped. They stood in front of a giant, red sign, which clearly spelled out "Tunnel of Love" in pink, curly letters. "Ummm, you wanna go on the Ferris wheel instead?" Heat said, chuckling nervously.

"Come on, silly! Let's go on this one!" With that, Kitty-N grabbed Heat's hand and dragged him into the building.

Once Hiro had run out of breath, he finally stopped running. Sitting on a park bench, he panted as he watched Strike jog towards him. As Strike came into hearing range, Hiro panted "Zombie…in…house!…Green…zombie!…I'm…sorry"

"Sorry!" Strike yelled. "Heck, Hiro! You didn't recognize him?"

"Recognize who?" Hiro asked, fixing his hair, which had gotten messed up during his run.

"Bio! Duh! Who else did you think it could be?"

"Bio? That was Bio? What's he doing here?"

Strike sat down next to Hiro and bench. "He got a part time job here, working in the haunted house". Comprehension dawned on Hiro. Looking at a nearby clock, Strike stood up again. "We better go find Heat and Tsutamo".

"Did you see that?" Shorty asked, peeking over a group of bushes. Columbo was perched on top of her head, peeping over as well.

"See what?" Tsutamo asked. He was bent over, tying his shoe laces.

"Kitty-N and Heat just walked into the Tunnel of Love ride! Ah, how romantic! I didn't know they liked each other!" Shorty exclaimed, placing her hand (or her sleeve, rather) over her heart.

Tsutamo stood up. Scratching his head, he replied "So, what do we do about that?"

Shorty turned to face Tsutamo. "We go spy on them!" she said, grinning wickedly.

Tsutamo, ever the goodie two shoes, said "I don't think we shou…". Not letting him continue, Shorty grabbed his arm and dragged him in to the pink building.

"Where are they?" Hiro asked, tapping his foot impatiently. "They had better not have gone and gotten lunch without us!"

Strike, lounging on a park bench, just stared up at the sky.

Hiro turned to his brother, and said, "Hey, sleepyhead, I was talking to you!" He flicked a piece of popcorn at Strike.

Strike, in one swift motion, pulled out his shotgun, and shot the bag of popcorn out of a stunned Hiro's hands.

"Eeep!" squeaked Hiro in shock. With that, he fainted.

Strike just lay back down on the bench, for a little snooze.

Walking up to the counter, Kitty-N smiled at the ticket master and held up two fingers.

"Two tickets for the happy couple, coming right up!" the ticket master handed Heat the tickets. Heat went red with embarrassment. "Have a nice time!" he called after them.

When they reached the tunnel of water, they climbed into one of the boats, and it drifted into the darkness.

"Two tickets for the…oh, aren't you two just the cutest pair!" the ticket master exclaimed.

"Yah, yah, just give us our tickets!" Shorty said, crossing her arms impatiently. After they received their tickets, Shorty grabbed Tsutamo's arm. "Let's go!" she said. "We don't want to lose Heat and Kitty-N!" They walked down a pathway, and came to the stream of water.

As a boat pulled up to the edge, Shorty and Tsutamo hopped in. Entering a pitch black tunnel, Tsutamo gulped. As their boat was surrounded with darkness, the two let out a scream of terror.


	7. Big Crushes, and Loads of Blushes!

Strike woke up. Looking at a nearby clock, he saw it was lunch time. He yawned, then stretched. "Hey, when are Heat and Tsutamo going to…?" Strike stopped, seeing Hiro was no longer with him. Annoyed, Strike got up to see where his narcissi brother had gotten to.

Coming out of the dark tunnel, Kitty-N sighed. This place was so beautiful! The tunnel was made to look as though they were drifting along a canal in Venice, Italy. The lights were dimmed, to add a romantic touch. Sighing happily again, she, without knowing it, lay her head on Heat's shoulder.

Heat, also without knowing it, put his arm around Kitty-N, as he glanced around the well decorated tunnel. However, suddenly two blood curdling screams erupted from somewhere behind them, causing them to both jump up, and away from each other.

"What was that?" Kitty-N asked, looking behind the boat into the darkness of the tunnel they had just left.

Heat turned too. "I don't know", he responded, "probably some pranksters trying to scare us".

Kitty-N looked at Heat. "Well, they can't scare me. Not, at least, while you're here".

Heat blushed, but grinned back at her. Looking back around the tunnel they were in, Heat was glad Kitty-N had dragged him on this ride.

Shaking like wet dogs, Tsutamo and Shorty clung onto each other, both scared out of their wits. When they finally left the darkness, they sighed with relief. Then, realizing they were hugging each other, they immedeatly let go, and looked around. As they rounded a corner, Shorty suddenly pointed ahead. "Look! It's them!" she exclaimed.

Tsutamo looked at the red boat that was drifting along, just ten yards in front of them. "It is" he said. Then, he looked over at the walls. They were decorated to look like they were in Italy.

"Oh my gosh! Did you see that?" Shorty said, grabbing Tsutamo's sleeve to get his attention. "Kitty-N just put her head on Heat's shoulder!"

Stunned, Tsutamo looked ahead. Sure enough, Kitty-N was snuggling up next to Heat, and, to Tsutamo's utter amazement, Heat wasn't fighting it. "Can you hear what they're saying?" he asked Shorty.

Leaning forward, Shorty turned her ear towards the boat ahead. "Nope", she said, after a few seconds. "Try getting the boat closer to theirs".

Tsutamo looked around, and then saw a lever. He pulled it slightly, and the boat picked up speed.

As they drew nearer, Shorty whispered, "That should be enough. I can hear them". Then, leaning forward, she listened.

"It's nice", Heat said, looking around.

"Yah. Oddly enough, I suddenly have a strong craving for a corn dog on a stick", Kitty-N replied staring off into the distance. Turning her head, her eyes locked with Heat's.

Heat laughed nervously, and looked away. Allowing his hand to trail in the water, he looked at his reflection. Realizing how untidy his hair was, he tried to fix it without Kitty noticing. Normally he didn't care about these kind of things, but, well, right now was different :) When he sat back up, suddenly, Kitty-N leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Heat turned red with embarrassment, but he grinned with pleasure.

"Did you see that!" Shorty yelled, a little louder than she meant to say it. Heat and Kitty turned around to see them. As the two younger ones dove to the floor of the boat, in an attempt to hide themselves, Tsutamo accidentally hit the lever, sending the boat flying forward at full speed. Tsutamo and Shorty climbed off the floor, in time to see the two boats grow uncomfortably close. All four let out a yell of surprise, and the two boats collided. Tsutamo and Shorty were sent flying into the water, while Heat and Kitty-N's boat sank beneath them. Shorty landed splashing next to an angry Kitty-N. "So, come here often?" she asked, as Kitty frowned at her.

Tsutamo, surfacing next to Heat, barely had time to breath before Heat grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up. "WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, SNEAKING UP ON KITTY AND I LIKE THAT! AND NOT ONLY DO YOU HAVE TO SPY ON US, YOU GO AND SINK BOTH OF OUR BOATS!" Dropping Tsutamo back in with a **Ker-plunk!**, Heat got out of the water, and pulled Kitty out after him.

Strike, after wandering for a bit, finally spotted Hiro near a booth. Before he could say anything, Hiro grabbed his arm, pulling him up to the booth, which was, infact, the photo booth were you can buy a picture of yourself on a ride. "Do those guys look familiar to you?" he said, pointing to a group of screens labeled "The Tunnel of Love". Lowering his shades, Strike looked at the a picture of four people; two, in the first boat, looking behind them, and the other two hanging on for dear life as their boat sped towards the first, all yelling their heads off. Laughing, Strike slipped his shades back on.

"It's not funny", a voice said behind him. Turning around, he found a soaked Heat dragging a soggy Tsutamo behind him.

"No, it is pretty funny" Hiro remarked, leaning on the booth counter, sipping a milkshake. He threw Tsutamo a towel, saying "Here kid. You should dry off". Tsutamo caught it, then started wiping himself down.

"Hey, how come he gets a towel?" Heat asked, frowning at Hiro. Hiro just grinned tauntingly back at him. "Grrrrrr…." Heat shook with rage. Suddenly (for the second time today), he burst into flames. A few unsuspecting bystanders ran away in terror, as Strike shook his head. The flames suddenly disappeared into thin air, and Heat dusted off his now dry clothes. Smiling at the surprised Hiro and Tsutamo Heat placed his cowboy hat on his head, and asked "So, how do I look?"

Strike, walking over, knocked Heat's hat off. "You little weirdo!" he said, ruffling Heat's dark red hair.

"You just scared away park visitors", Hiro added. "Do you always have to embarrass us?"

Heat stuck his tongue out at Hiro, while Strike spun the cowboy hat on his finger. "So", he said, jamming the hat back on Heat's head. "Who's up for lunch?"


	8. More Fair Randomness!

Sitting down at a table, Heat, Tsutamo, and Strike waited for Hiro to come back with their lunches. "So, what did you and disco boy do to keep yourself busy?" Heat asked Strike.

Looking over his shoulder to make sure Hiro was out of hearing range, Strike replied, "Well, we were in a haunted house, until he had to go screaming off at the sight of Bio. I tell you, what a scaredy cat!"

"Speaking of scaredy cats, I assume that was you and Shorty who screamed when we were in the tunnel?" Heat said annoyedly, turning to Tsutamo.

"Well…you see…I…", Tsutamo stuttered. At that moment, Hiro arrived with a tray of burgers, fries, and sodas.

"Speaking of the that, what were you and Shorty doing in the Tunnel of Love?" Hiro asked, handing out the food.

"He's in love with her", Heat stated, between mouthfuls of fries.

"Oh, how cute!" Hiro exclaimed. "Kid love".

"WHAT! We're not in love! At least we weren't the ones in their snuggling with each other", Tsutamo said, jamming the straw into the top of his cup.

Interested, Strike and Hiro turned to look at Heat, who was shooting Tsutamo a dirty look. "What's this we here about snuggling?" Strike asked smugly, "Aw, does wittle Heat have a cwush?" Everyone laughed, except Heat, who muttered something under his breath.

Tsutamo nudged Strike. "He must", he said, "'cause he and Kitty-N were kissing like they liked each other".

"They WHAT!" Hiro and Strike jumped five feet off their chairs. "You and Kitty-N were KISSING?" Hiro asked, a surprised look on his face.

Strike, grinning wickedly, took a bite of his burger. "How could anyone love you?" he said to Heat.

Heat turned bright red with embarrassment. "We weren't kissing! I was just sitting there, and Kitty leaned over and kissed me on the cheek". As the other three teased him, Heat sunk lower in his seat, terribly embarrassed.

As they drifted away from the topic of romantic interest (much to Heat's relief), they finished their lunches. "OK", Hiro said, standing up. "So me and Tsutamo will go to the arcade, while you two go on some rides. We'll meet up near the side show at…one o'clock?"

"Sounds like a plan", Strike replied, and jogged to catch up with Heat, who was running crazily to the nearest, biggest roller coaster.

Turning to Tsutamo, Hiro asked "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He and his little brother then walked out of the food court and found the nearest arcade.

"Step right up! Shoot the ducks and win a prize!" a nearby vendor yelled. Walking over, Strike tossed the man a few coins. "Ah, we have a contestant!" the man announced. "So, do you think you have what it takes to win?"

"Puleease!" Strike said, rolling his eyes. "Just give me the gun", he shot a look of annoyance at the vendor.

Suddenly, Heat appeared at Strike's side, eating cotton candy. "What'cha doin'?" he asked, with a mouth full of cotton candy. Then, seeing the vendor hand Strike a toy shotgun, he chuckled evilly. "Man, is that vendor in for a shock", Heat said in a low tone to Strike.

"Whenever you're ready", the vendor said, pulling a lever. A conveyor belt with rubber ducks started rolling. Holding the gun level, Strike said shooting rapid fire. The rubber ducks exploded as each bullet found its target. Destroying the ducks instantly, Strike continued shooting, only now he was hitting the backboard. Bullets ricocheted in various directions, one narrowly missing Heat's head.

"Hey, watch it!" Heat exclaimed, ducking just in time. After Strike didn't respond, he smacked his older brother on the side of the head. "You can stop shooting now, Ace!" he yelled over the sound of the gun.

At that moment, Strike's gun ran out of bullets. Placing it on the counter, he asked, "Where's my prize?"

The vendor, who had hidden under the counter, got shakily up. Nervous to approach Strike, he threw an over sized stuffed frog at the sharpshooter. Then, without a moment's hesitation, he ran back under the counter, whimpering.

Catching the frog, Strike looked it over. It was a lime green color, with big, black and white eyes, and it's hot pink tongue sticking out. "Here", he said, tossing it to Heat. "You can give this to lover cat".

Heat turned bright red, but caught the frog, and carried it under his arm. "So", he said, after awhile. "What do you want to do now?"

**Bing bing bing!** "Yes!" Tsutamo exclaimed. He had just gotten the high score for Pacman. "Hey, Hiro, I…", he turned around, but, then seeing Hiro wasn't next to him anymore, he stopped. "Hiro?" Tsutamo started to wander around the arcade. However, as soon as he saw a crowd of excited girls, he knew where Hiro was. Pushing his way through the crowd, he found Hiro playing a game that involved _dancing_. Arrows would come on the screen, and Hiro would have to stomp on that arrow on the pad he was standing on. However, not only was Hiro just stomping his feet, he was also just plain busting a groove. His admirers, the crowd of girls, watched in awe, some calling his name while others begged for autographs. Tsutamo rolled his eyes. Walking to the wall by the machine, Tsutamo leaned on it and crossed his arms. Listening to the rocking music Hiro was dancing to, Tsutamo's mind started to wander.

"Remind me again why we are here", Heat said, annoyed. He slouched in his chair, obviously bored. "This is so stupid!" he exclaimed, nodding to the stage.

Strike muttered to himself, tired of his fiery brother's complaints. "For the last time, we are here because this is where Hiro told us to meet him and Tsutamo".

"But why the heck did we choose to meet at a side show? I mean, come one!" Heat studied his gloves, bored.

It took all of Strike's will not to strangle Heat. "Because", he said through gritted teeth, "there was no where else to meet! What, would you have rather have met them by the pony rides?"

Heat made no response. Instead, he changed the subject. "Look at that", he said, as a new performer came onstage. The guy was announced as Gus, the fire eater. Lighting a torch, he stuck it down his throat, much to the audience's delight. Heat let out a sigh of annoyence. "Come **ON**! The guy ain't a saint people. I can do that better than he can!" he muttered to Strike.

Strike fists clenched and unclenched as he considered grabbing his shot guns, just to get Heat to shut up. "Heat", he finally said, "why don't you put your money where your mouth is? Prove it!" he said sarcastically. To his horror, Heat got up from his seat.

"I'd be glad to". With that, the red head proceeded to walk to the stage.

As the last chords of the song played, Hiro walked off the game pad, exhausted. Wiping his head, he pushed his way through his audience just as another person stepped onto the game. A hip hop beat started, and Hiro could feel his feet tapping to the rhythm. Suddenly he remembered about the meeting arrangements with Strike and Heat. Walking around, Hiro looked for Tsutamo. "Where has that little rascal gone to?" he said aloud, after searching the whole arcade. Walking back to the dancing game, Hiro leaned against the wall, trying to think. Looking to his left, Hiro did a double take. In the corner, by the game, Tsutamo was…dancing! With his eyes closed, he was completely oblivious to the world, just dancing along with the beat. Hiro's jaw dropped. He had no idea Tsutamo could dance! Hiro sunk to the floor in disbelief. He put his head in his hands, every once in awhile sneaking peaks at the grooving Tsutamo.

As the song ended, Tsutamo got up from his final pose. Surprised, he saw Hiro, only a few yards away, sitting on the floor, head buried in arms. "Hey Hiro!" he said, coming over. "Is anything wrong?"

Hiro looked up. "Hey Tsutamo. No, nothing's wrong. We'd better go meet Heat and Strike". With that, he got up, and the two left the arcade.

Heat had climbed up on stage, and was currently to the far left, leaning against the wall. Gus, the fire eater, hadn't noticed him yet, but the audience had. People whispered to their neighbors in confusion. Strike sunk lower in his seat. For once in his life, he was embarrassed to be related to Heat.

"And now, for the finale!" Gus yelled. He took a large torch, and lit it. Giant flames erupted on the top of it.

As Gus started to put the top of it in his mouth, Heat suddenly shouted. "Ha! That's nothing! Anyone can do that!" Walking center stage, Heat proceeded to pull the torch out of the confused guy's mouth, and he shoved it down his own. Pulling the torch back out, he held it up for the audience to see. The fire was completely extinguished. The audience burst out cheering wildly.

Strike held his hand up to his face. He was the only one not standing and clapping for Heat.

As flowers were tossed on stage, Heat gathered them in a bouquet. Walking off, he waved to the crowd. He found Strike in his chair, hand over face. "Hey Strike!" he said, grinning.

Strike roughly grabbed Heat by the collar, and dragged him outside. When they were out of the audience's hearing, Strike turned to the grinning red head. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? THAT WAS TERRIBLE!"

"You're telling me!" Heat exclaimed, obviously not getting Strike's message. "I mean, that torch had the guy's spit all over it! I need some mouth wash". As he attempted to walk away, Strike grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"NO! YOU DON'T GET IT! YOU CAN'T JUST WALK UP ON STAGE AND PERFORM AS THOUGH THE REASON THE AUDIENCE CAME WAS TO SEE YOU!" Strike exploded.

Heat, for the first time in his life, was scared of his twenty two year old brother. He had never seen the laid back Strike lose his cool before, and now, Heat was sorry it had happened. "I…I…um..", Heat tried to talk, but was shaking with fear.

"Yo guys! We're here!" Hiro walking with Tsutamo over to his other two brothers. "Hey, I gotta tell you, we…", Hiro stopped. Strike had Heat by the shirt collar, lifted a foot or so off the ground, while Heat shook with an obvious, profound fear.

For once, Heat was ecstatic to see Hiro. Pulling himself out of Strike's grasp, he ran over to Hiro and knocked him over, hugging him, and thanking God Hiro had come in the nick of time.

Hiro, completely stunned, just patted the shaking uncontrollably Heat on the back. Finally, after Heat had calmed down, Hiro was able to pull himself off the ground. Whipping out his mirror (he seems to do that often :P), Hiro combed his hair until it was perfect. Then, looking around, he asked, "Where is Tsutamo?"

Tsutamo, who didn't seem to have noticed the happenings, had gone inside the side show building to watch some of the performances.

Seeing him not around, Hiro turned to the other two. "You guys aren't going to believe this, but our new brother…he can dance!"

"Are you serious?" Strike said, folding his arms. "How in the world did he learn to dance?"

"Sweet!" Heat said. "We should make him an official member of Bust A Groove!"

Strike, still rather ticked off with Heat, turned on him. "HOW THE HECK DO YOU EXPECT TO DO THAT? THE ONLY WAY HE CAN BE A MEMBER IS IF HE BEATS ONE OF THE EXISTING MEMBERS IN A COMPETION!"

Hiro now appeared worried. "Do you think he'd be up to the challenge?"

Heat, however, was confident. "I'm sure he's up to the challenge! He'll prove it when we bring him tomorrow night!"

Responses to Reviews:

FireflyDino- Thanks! Here's a new chapter for you:)

Veronica The Mischievous- Wow! I'm glad you really liked it! Heat's my favorite character to! (Well, besides Kitty-N).


	9. Sound Bytes and Remote Fights!

Tsutamo woke up, feeling refreshed. Yesterday had been fun, spending the day with his brothers at the fair. Yawning, Tsutamo got out of bed and slipped his feet into his frog slippers (to match his maracas :P). Trudging down the hallway to the stairs, he suddenly realized something. Today was Saturday! Saturday meant watching cartoons all morning! Tsutamo stumbled down the stairs and raced toward the family room. However, when he arrived there, he was disappointed to see that Hiro was already there.

"Hey Tsutamo!" Hiro said happily. "Did you get a good night's sleep?" Seeing his little brother nod, Hiro turned back to the TV.

"What are you watching?" Tsutamo asked, sitting on the sofa next to Hiro. Then, to his horror, he saw what it was. "It's an infomercial!"

"Yes, but not just any infomercial, it's for the newest product from the STYLISH HAIR line of products. This comb has a built in hairspray, so one's hair never gets messed up!" Hiro explained excitedly. "It's fascinating!"

Tsutamo groaned, and sunk lower in his seat. After ten minutes or so of listening to "Call now and will give you…for absolutely free…when you pay twenty bucks…", he was on the verge of falling asleep. However, a loud holler awoke him.

"Wahooo!" Suddenly, Heat ran into the room, did a back flip over Hiro's chair, and, grabbing the remote from his surprised brother, Heat landed next to an equally surprised Tsutamo. Grinning, he asked, "So, what are you guys watching?"

Still in a state of shock, Tsutamo said dazedly "Hair product commercial".

"Ewww!" Heat said, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "Why the heck would you want to watch that?"

"Hey!" Hiro yelled. "What's wrong with hair product commercials?"

"What isn't wrong with hair product commercials", Heat muttered. Then fumbling with the remote, he switched the channel.

"The music channel?" Hiro asked. "Heat, you know I hate your kind of mus…". He was suddenly interrupted by a heavy base beat, causing him to fall out of his chair.

Cranking up the volume, Heat bobbed his head to the rhythm. Then, getting up, Heat started break dancing to the beat.

While Tsutamo wasn't a big fan of hip-hop, he preferred this to the infomercial. Tapping his feet to the beat, he cheered on Heat.

Heat was having the time of his life. Doing a back flip, he earned a FREEZE from Tsutamo (who was acting as DJ). Stopping just long enough to put on his red cap (the one from the first Bust A Groove), Heat was cuttin' rug (it's an expression for dancing :P). Suddenly, the music was muted.

Hiro clambered back into his chair, remote in hand. Whipping out his mirror, he combed his hair, then proceeded in changing back to the infomercial. "Oh, get over yourselves", Hiro said to the protesting brothers. The announcer was reciting the number to call. Eagerly, Hiro grabbed a pen and paper, and leaned forward to hear. "To order now, call 1-800-597-90…-… _Burnin' down the house!_…". "HEAT!" Hiro screamed, jumping up.

Heat giggled madly, and took off running with the remote. Jumping over the coffee table, he cranked up the volume on the stereo, and started dancing along.

Hiro was furious. He hadn't gotten down the whole phone number. Now he would never have the perfect hair! Boiling with rage, he let out a yell, and threw himself on a surprised Heat. Hiro, however, was not very good at fighting. Heat had him flat on his back in a matter of seconds, and took off running down the hall, remote still in hand. Hiro ran after him, as best he could in platform shoes.

Tsutamo just sat on the couch, yawning. Suddenly, he heard a loud **CRASH!**, an Italian "Mama mia!", a ticked off "What the…!", and another loud **CRASH!** A few moments later a dizzy Heat and an exhausted Hiro (who's "I LUV ME" shirt now had scorch marks) sprawled into the room.

"No…more..!" Hiro panted, trying to catch his breath.

Heat turned to look at him. "Well, how are we going to settle this than?"

After a moment, they turned their heads in unison towards Tsutamo, looking at him weirdly. "Uh oh…", Tsutamo said under his breath. Then, they pounced.

"Tsutamo, would you rather watch some boring music station, or learn about the fascinating world of hair products?" Hiro demanded.

"I…um…"

"Little bro, tell him how stupid hair commercials are! Tell him you want to listen to music!" Heat stood his ground, eyes blazing.

"I…um…"

"Well, which one is it?" the two asked in unison, glaring at the scared little boy.

Tsutamo managed to find his voice eventually. "Well, I, uh, I was kind of…kind of hoping we…we could watch cartoons…since..".

"WHAT!" Heat and Hiro yelled. They were now standing over him.

Tsutamo whimpered. "W…Well…we c…could…listen to He…Heat's music…". With that said, he ducked his head under a nearby pillow.

"WHAT!" Hiro said, obviously upset.

"Booyah!" Heat yelled. Grabbing the remote from Hiro, he started singing. "I'm 2Bad Bad, 2Bad Bad Bad Bad!" Filled with cockiness, Heat started waving the remote above his head and laughing. However, his laughter stopped as soon as it was slipped out of his hands.

"CAN'T A GUY GET SOME SLEEP AROUND HERE! I'M JUST TRYING TO CATCH SOME Z'S, ONLY TO BE AWOKEN BY LOUD NOISES. I COME DOWN HERE TO SEE WHAT IS WRONG, AND WHAT DO I FIND BUT TWO IDIOTS BICKERING OVER TV STATIONS!" Strike exploded, crossing his arms in frustration.

Hiro and Heat hung their heads in shame. Tsutamo finally crawled out from underneath the pillow, but hid back when he saw what was happening.

"NOW, DO YOU TWO HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY FOR YOURSELVES?"

Heat, a little bolder than Hiro, stepped forward. "Ya", he said, "can you pass the remote?"

Strike snapped. Chucking the remote at Heat's head (who ducked just in time), Strike walked over to the TV and put his foot through it. "There", he said, walking away. "Now we don't have to fight over the television stations anymore". Brushing past the stunned two (who's mouths were hanging open), he headed towards the kitchen. "Heat!" he yelled back. "What time did you say Frida was coming over?"

"Ack!" Heat snapped out of his trance. "I gotta go get ready!" With that, he took off upstairs.

Hiro, still upset about having missed the end of the commercial, slumped down on the couch. Then, realizing he was not alone, he picked up the pillows. There, nestled among them, was a sleeping Tsutamo, who had fallen asleep during Heat and Hiro's argument. Chuckling to himself, Hiro carried the little boy to his bedroom and lay him on the bed, to sleep some more.

Tsutamo woke to the sound of music. Not loud, hip hop, like he was used to hearing coming from Heat or Strike's room. It was a soft guitar tune, with the occasional piano chord. Getting up from bed, Tsutamo looked at himself in the mirror. He was still in his pajamas…wait a minute! What time was it? Running over to the alarm clock, Tsutamo let out a gasp. It was just after noon! He had been asleep for almost five hours now! Scrambling to get dressed, the little kid stumbled out of his room a minute or so later. Regaining composure, Tsutamo went to investigate the music. Walking past Hiro's room, he put his ear to the door. No, it wasn't coming in from there. On his way to Strike's room, Tsutamo stopped in front of Heat's flame painted door. Yes, it was definetly coming in from there. Now that he heard it clearer, he could also make out the sound of…singing! Putting his ear to the door, Tsutamo leaned against it. The door, not shut, swung open, and Tsutamo fell over, landing face first in Heat' bedroom.

"Tsutamo?" Heat immedeatly stopped playing his guitar (which had flames painted on it :P).

Tsutamo tried to get up, but fell over again. Suddenly, a tan hand extended towards him appeared. Looking up, he saw the dark blue haired girl he had met at Bust A Groove. "Frida?" he said, taking her hand.

Helping the kid up, Frida brushed him off. "Well", she said finally, turning to Heat. "Looks like we caught ourselves a spy. What should we do with him?"

"I wasn't spying, honest!" Tsutamo stuttered.

"Well, I hear back in the middle ages, they used to cut the ears off eavesdroppers", Heat said, jokingly, setting his guitar down on his bed. Then, getting up, he crossed over to Tsutamo and Frida. Grabbing his brother's ears, he turned to his friend. "What do you say we cut off his ears? Here, I'll hold them, and you go get the ax".

"AHHH! No! I swear I won't do it again!" Tsutamo said in a panic.

Grinning at each other, Frida walked over to Heat's closet while he held on firmly to Tsutamo. Rummaging through it, she pretended to be looking for an ax. "No, I don't see it in here, Heat", she said, turning around. "I guess we'll have to use a kitchen knife".

"NOOOO! Please, please, please let me go!" Tsutamo wailed, scared out of his wits.

"Ah, we were just kidding, bro", Heat said, patting his petrified brother on the back. "So, what brings you here?"

Tsutamo, sighing with relief, replied. "I heard music, and I went to see where it was coming from".

Heat sat back down on his bed. "Oh, Frida and I were just working on some songs we wrote".

"Songs for what?" Tsutamo asked.

"Well, we decided it's time everyone changes their songs and places for Bust A Groove. As much as I love "2Bad", it's getting kind of old".

Frida crossed over and sat next to Heat. "So", she explained, "Heat and I have been working on a couple of new songs. We're not very far in writing the lyrics though".

"Cool!" Tsutamo exclaimed. "Can I here them?"

Heat and Frida exchanged looks. "Well…", Heat stalled, "I don't suppose it could hurt any if he heard a few…".

"Whoopee!" Tsutamo excitedly sat down on the floor, preparing to be serenaded.

"How about we play "Magic Tower"?" Seeing Heat nod, Frida positioned herself behind a keyboard, which was covered in paint splatters (obviously Frida had brought it from home). Immedeatly, the keyboard started spilling out chords, while the guitar played in the background.

Tsutamo leaned back, listening to the enchanting music, as Frida started singing, with Heat lightly humming the tune in the background.

"_Take you to my magic tower…in my land of blue and green…"_

After the lively tune ended, Tsutamo clapped gleefully. "So that is your new song, Frida?" he asked.

"Actually, we wrote it for my sister, Comet", Frida said, taking a seat next to Heat. "Since she's being declared a member tonight, I decided she should have her own place. It's going to look like the sushi bar she works at".

"Cool!" Tsutamo exclaimed. "You guys got any other songs?"

Frida started shaking her head, but Heat stopped her. "Actually, I have one I've kind of been working on…". Seeing Frida's surprised look as she stared at him, he muttered, "Well, it's not very good. I've only really written the chorus".

"Ooooh, let's hear it!" Tsutamo sat up, smiling.

Seeing Frida smile also, Heat reluctantly picked up his guitar, and started strumming a few chords. After a few warm up chords, Heat got into the song. It was a slower song (definitely slower than "2Bad"). Strumming away, Heat started singing. The song was enchanting. Now, Heat wasn't an excellent singer, but there was something about his voice that made the song seem more melodic.

Tsutamo sat spellbound. He didn't know Heat could compose songs, much less sing them! Looking over at Frida, he saw, that she too was captivated by the music. She was staring off into the distance, an odd look of thoughtfulness on her face. Returning his gaze to Heat, Tsutamo found himself again swept away by the music.

"_Everybody knows that Heat is the one…_", Heat sang lightly, oblivious to all else around him. Then, strumming the last few chords, he finished. "_Ain't no stoppin', stoppin', the Heat is on!_" Slowly, he placed his guitar next to him, and looked up, embarrassed. "It's not very good", Heat said, smiling sheepishly. "It's probably not good enough to use for Bust A Groove, but I…"

Tsutamo cut him off. "What do you mean, not very good! That was WONDERFUL! Wow, I'm going to go tell Hiro and Strike!" Before Heat could stop him, Tsutamo was walking out the door, still rambling on. "I never knew you could write songs! Wow, that was cool…"

Heat was stunned by Tsutamo's generosity with compliments. Turning to Frida, he was about to comment on this, when he saw she was looking at him weirdly.

"Um, Frida?" he said, waving a gloved hand in front of her face.

"Huh? Oh, yah", Frida snapped back to reality, and blushed, turning away from Heat. "That was a nice song", she stuttered.

"Thanks", Heat said, and, since Frida had her back turned, she didn't see it, but Heat too blushed.

Suddenly there was a call from downstairs. "Dinner, people!"

**MistressCoCoLoVeR****** Thanks (I guess). Sorry, I'm not entirely sure how to interpret your swearing, so I don't know if you are complimenting me or not. Either was, thanks for reviewing :)**  
**


	10. BREADSTICKS!

Hiro folded his arms, tapping his foot impatiently. Silence. "I said dinner!" He yelled. Getting out the phone book, he started skimming through a number of fast food phone numbers. Glancing at the clock, Hiro tried a last time. "For goodness sake, I said dinner! Doesn't anyone want dinner?" No one came to the kitchen. "Fine!" He yelled. "I'm ordering Italian". Seconds later, Strike, Tsutamo, Heat, and Frida appeared in the room, all complaining.

"We have Italian every time I'm here!" Frida exclaimed.

"Ewww, why Italian? I HATE ITALIAN!" Strike roared.

"We never have burgers. Can we get burgers?" Tsutamo whined.

"I wonder if we could get breadsticks…", Heat added thoughtfully. The other three turned angrily to him. "What?" he asked.

"Fine, we won't get Italian", Hiro said. "But that means you guys have to come up with a better idea". Everyone looked happily around. "One that you all agree on". Smiles vanished off faces.

"Well, I say we get burgers", Tsutamo said, folding his arms.

"We never get steak or ribs!" Strike complained.

"WHO THE HECK HAS EVER HEARD OF FAST FOOD STEAK BEFORE!" Heat exploded. "I mean, come one!"

Frida stood in the corner, deep in thought. Suddenly, the light bulb clicked on ding! (Sorry, I've always wanted to do that :P). "What about pizza?" Every one stopped bickering and stared at her. "It's greasy enough for Tsutamo's taste (burgers are greasy, aren't they?), it's Italian, like Hiro, you could always get steak as a topping (for Strike), and, you can order breadsticks…".

"Yahoo! BREADSTICKS!" Heat yelled, jumping up and down (In case you can't tell, I had tons of sugar before I wrote this chapter :P)

"Alright, I'll call the pizza place", Hiro said, picking up the phone.

"That's good and all, but what are we going to do while we wait for the pizza?" Strike asked, leaning against the kitchen wall.

An evil gleam appeared in Heat's eye, and bounded off the family room.

"What's he doing?" Tsutamo asked, curious.

Frida chuckled to herself. "If I know him, and I'm pretty sure I do, he'll be setting up the video game system".

"Heat's into video games? I never knew that!"

Strike lazily twirled one of his pistols on his finger, while glancing around. "Yah, the little weirdo gets overly excited when he plays any sort racing type video game, so I'd watch out if he puts one on".

An excited exclamation from the next room over told them Heat was done setting up the game. Much to Strike's amusement, the game that popped up on the screen was a racing game. Heat, first player, chose a drag-racer type car covered in (you guessed it) flames. As the Frida chose her car, Heat tossed controllers to Tsutamo and Strike. "Here, play with us!"

Strike smirked. "A kiddy game like this? Thanks, I'll pass".

"What, are you too afraid to challenge me? Afraid I'll kick your butt?"

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess I have no choice…", Strike replied, jamming the controller into the socket.

Tsutamo reluctantly joined the others (he hated video games). However, when he thought about it, this was another perfect opportunity to learn more about his older brothers (and Frida).

As the screen loaded, Hiro entered the room. "The pizza will be here in twenty minutes, so whi…", he trailed off when he saw the game. Without another word, he turned around and left the room.

"What's with him?" Frida asked, her car jumping from the starting line first.

Heat, concentrating hard on the game, answered without taking his eyes off the screen. "Hiro? He doesn't like video games. He thinks they make people hyper active".

"Go figure", Strike said, watching Heat clicking the controller buttons manically, tongue hanging out and all.

It was the last leg of the race, and Heat and Frida's cars were dead even. As the finish line came into view, Heat's car got a boost in fuel, and he came in ahead. Letting out a yell of delight, Heat jumped up and down in victory.

Tsutamo watched Heat with wonder. "Uhh…Strike...", he said, turning to his eldest brother, "Why does Heat get so excited? It's just a game".

"Well, I suppose because, ever since the accident, he hasn't gotten to race again for real, so he lives out all his thrills in games. Pretty pathetic, isn't it?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" Out of no where, Heat had appeared in front of Strike, shaking with fury.

"Calm down, kid. Why have you been so energetic lately, anyway?" (Strike, it's cause I said I had sugar before I wrote this chapter! Don't you pay attention!). "Oh ya…"

Frida and Tsutamo looked at Strike funny. "Did you say something Strike?"

"Um, no…"

"It's ON!" Heat yelled, running back to his seat.

A few races later, Heat had one his share, with the occasional win for Frida (he let her win, but don't tell her that :P) Approaching the time the pizza was to arrive, they decided to have one last game. Through out the game Heat and Strike were neck and neck. Finally, just before the finish line, Strike pulled a cheap trick. Swerving his car into Heat's he proceeded in pushing Heat's car over the edge, thus killing his younger brother (well, in the video game world :P). "Player 3 wins!" the game announced. "Not so cocky now, are you?" Strike said, smirking at Heat.

Frida turned to look at Heat, and was surprised to see him a severe state of shock. "Heat, what's wrong?"

Heat stared off into the distance, mumbling something to himself.

"Heat, what is it?"

His voice barely audible, Heat spoke. "He…he pulled the…the same dirty trick…that the driver…that day…my accident…".

"Huh?" Strike said, surprised.

"Heat…" Frida put her arm over his shoulder to comfort him.

Heat stared at his corner of the screen, of his race car engulfed in flames, the driver dying. Those flames…intense burning…no hope…can't..breathe… Curling his hands into fists, Heat threw Frida's arm off him, and grabbed Strike by the hair. "DO YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY! JOKING ABOUT STUFF LIKE THAT!" He lifted his older brother off the ground. "DO YOU!"

"Hey…calm down! It's not a big deal! What's your problem!"

Heat shook with rage. "What's…MY PROBLEM!" he repeated. "MY PROBLEM IS IT'S BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE YOU THAT I CRASHED…that I can't race anymore…that…that I almost didn't…make it...THAT I'M LIKE THIS!" He screamed, thrusting a flaming hand in Strike's face, nearly melting Strike's sunglasses.

Tsutamo was so scared he almost wet his pants. "Frida…why are they fighting like this? It…it s-scares me!"

Frida hugged Tsutamo. "Strike went too far. He knew that Heat still has nightmares about that day…that that moment won't fade from his mind…he knew that Heat would be upset, and yet he still provoked him". Seeing Tsutamo terrified, Frida sighed. "Don't worry, he won't KILL him…".

In an attempt to save himself, Strike stuck Heat on the side of the head, knocking them both to the ground. As they struggled, Hiro came in, bearing pizza. "I brought pizza!" Then, seeing the two on the ground, battling it out, Hiro backed out of the room slowly. "If..you…want pizza…you'll have to come get it from the kitchen…" he said, disappearing as fast as he could. Frida and Tsutamo looked at each other, than passed the two who were fighting, and joined Hiro in the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, a dazed Heat and Strike entered the kitchen. Frida, Hiro, and Tsutamo all stopped chewing at the sight of the two. Heat's left eye was black and blue, his hair was ruffled, and his lip sagged in the corner where a little blood showed. However, as bad as Heat was, Strike was worse for wear. Shades cracked and broken, Strike had scratches all over his face, a good portion of his hair was missing (scorch marks answered the question of how he lost hair), a broken wrist, a huge burn on the side of his face in the shape of a hand (go figure), and a missing tooth. Swaying just before he collapsed on the ground, Strike moaned. "Pizza…".

Using the counter top as support, Heat coughed. "Breadsticks?" He asked, reaching out for the box. Just as he had opened the box and was reaching for a breadstick, Hiro slammed the lid shut.

"I don't think so!" he said, grinning wickedly at a shocked Heat. "Breadsticks are only for good little boys who don't get in fights".

"Ummm", Frida commented, "I wouldn't do that Hiro. He looks like he's still got energy enough to beat up ONE more brother…"

Hiro looked at Heat to see him baring his teeth and growling like a wild animal. With a loud "Eep!", Hiro took his hand off the box, and flung it at his brother.

"So, what time is the competition at tonight?" Frida asked. All four boys' heads shot up, looking at her surprised. "Come on! Don't tell me you guys forgot…AGAIN!"

"We'd…better leave …now!" Strike gasped, pulling himself off the floor.

"Yes, we don't want to be late…" Hiro mused to himself. "Come, let's go!" Grabbing the bath of Heat's shirt, he pulled his little brother away from the counter.

"But…but…THE BREADSTICKS!" Heat complained, hands extended towards the box on the counter.

"FINE!" Hiro shoved the box into Heat's hands. "Eat them on the way there!" As the other three made it to the garage, he strutted out after them, dragging an extremely pleased Heat who was happily munching away on the love of his life…breadsticks.

**MistressCoCoLoVeR:** That's OK :) I love Heat too!

**FireflyDino:** Hehe, thanks a lot:D

**Note to all readers:** Sorry it's been so long since I last updated! I've been extremely busy lately. ;)


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